I get that MLB wants to expand and globalize the fan base for baseball, and that supposedly there were a couple of nations who really cared about the composition of their country's compulsory-compiled rosters. Even if the fans don't show up (see photo, above), and tickets for the finals are discounted to as low as $5, the individual countries give a damn, right?

Some may argue that injuries could just as easily occur in spring training games, equally meaningless and equally overseen by capricious baseball gods. But I have to think that the nationalistic sentiments of the WBC tournament amplify the perceived stakes beyond a spring training exhibition (which, unlike the WBC, can still end in a tie). Factor in some minor leaguers, for whom the WBC will be their shining athletic moment, gunning at 100%, and the potential for injury seems to be greater.

Watching the Ramirez injury happen (see link with attached video): sure, it seemed innocuous enough of a defensive dive. Maybe that could have happened at Camelback Ranch, too. Maybe Ramirez was destined to get hurt.

But for pete's sake, now we're forced to consider Juan frickin' Uribe as a starting 3B again, an idea that has never made sense for the Dodgers even when Ned Colletti was dreaming this up over whisky one evening, and yet has persisted attempts like a recurring nightmare. So here we are, our lineup royally screwed before the season even begins. Yes, I'm bitter.